The present invention relates to a device for handling containers, e.g., cans made of glass, plastic, wood or metal, or bottles of glass or plastic, wherein the containers with the aid of a conveyor are conveyed in lying position past a detector in order to inspect characteristic data about the containers, and means which, on the basis of such data, determines how the containers are to be handled subsequently, e.g., sorted for removal from the conveyor, or conveyed further to the downstream end of the conveyor, and wherein the conveyor has first and second rotatory roller units, a first driving motor being connected to a first of the roller units to cause rotation thereof about its axis of rotation and thereby rotation of the second roller unit about its axis of rotation, by movement of belts or bands which extend continuously about and between the roller units. When inserted into the apparatus, such containers are preferably empty and may have served as storage for foodstuffs, e.g., beverages, or other usable contents.
It has previously been known to use controllable pushers which operate transverse to the conveyor belt, so that the containers are pushed off the belt and onto a second conveyor or directly into a receptacle means. A solution of this kind is technically complex, requires a great deal of equipment and is not suitable for handling all types of containers.
There has therefore long been a desire to provide a simple sorting device, especially for the cases where there is a need for sorting out to two or three exits.